Cherry MX Brown MX2A vs Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)
Weight is the real gap here: 15 g between the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) and the Cherry MX Brown MX2A at actuation, which is enough to change how a long session ends. Our switch library puts these two on each other's shortlist, and the player below is the fastest way to settle it: match the volumes, then work down through the table and the verdict.
Hear them back to back
simulated from real specssound loads on your first tapShortcuts: press A or B anywhere outside a text box to fire that burst. Use the volume trims to loudness-match the pair before judging which sounds better.
Spec by spec
| Spec | Cherry MX Brown MX2A | Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 67 g |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Cherry advertises an actuation force for the Cherry MX Brown MX2A and Community a bottom-out force for the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch), so the two headline numbers are not measured at the same point. Compare row by row, not brand claim to brand claim. The figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure for the Cherry MX Brown MX2A. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
The Cherry MX Brown MX2A and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) are both tactiles, so nothing separates them at the fingertip until you look at springs and acoustics. Weight separates them clearly: measured at actuation, the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) is 15 g heavier than the Cherry MX Brown MX2A, which changes both fatigue and sound. Budget also has a say, since the Cherry MX Brown MX2A is mid priced and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) is premium priced. One pick, not three: the Cherry MX Brown MX2A takes gaming and typing, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room. The Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Cherry MX Brown MX2A
Our three scores agree on this pair. The Cherry MX Brown MX2A takes all of them, which is why there is a single card above instead of three.
Force curves
Cherry MX Brown MX2A
Cherry publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 60 g at the end of the stroke is our estimate and the run into it is dashed. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers. How we derive it.
Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)
Cherry MX Brown MX2A or Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch): the long answer
Start with feel, because it settles most switch arguments before sound comes up. The spread at actuation is 15 g, 60 g on the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) against 45 g on the Cherry MX Brown MX2A, which puts them in different weight brackets rather than two shades of one. The stroke itself is shared: both give a finger something to aim at on the way down. Travel is a straight match, 2.0 mm of pre-travel and 4.0 mm in full on both. With the stroke shared, that spring gap does most of the deciding here.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. Through the A/B player above, the Cherry MX Brown MX2A comes through as soft, slightly sandy mid-pitch tap, while the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) reads as deep rounded thock with a snappy tactile knock. Both packs are synthesized rather than recorded, so read the comparison as a faithful sketch of each voice and not as a measurement of it.
On what they cost to fill a board, the Cherry MX Brown MX2A is mid priced, while the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) is premium priced. One of them has already been lubed for you and one has not, which is worth more than the price gap if you were not planning to open 70 switches.
The scoring gives up trying to divide this pair: the Cherry MX Brown MX2A is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, the scoring hands it a lighter spring at actuation. On typing feel, nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. On noise, it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. That leaves the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Before you order either, match the volume trims above and hear them back to back.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Cherry MX Brown MX2A page and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Cherry MX Brown MX2A or the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) the better gaming switch?
We pick the Cherry MX Brown MX2A for gaming. It takes this one on a lighter spring at actuation, which is what a fast repeated press actually cares about.
Which is quieter, the Cherry MX Brown MX2A or the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)?
Neither is dampened, so volume comes down to your board and your typing force. The one audible difference on the spec sheet is lube: the Cherry MX Brown MX2A is lubed at the factory, which takes out spring ping and scratch rather than loudness.
Is the Cherry MX Brown MX2A heavier than the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)?
The Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch), and the comparison is clean: actuation on both sides, 60 g to 45 g.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Cherry MX Brown MX2A or the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)?
The Cherry MX Brown MX2A sits in the mid priced bracket and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) in the premium priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
More comparisons
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